authenticity / domain expertise

Have been mulling over Paul Graham’s statement here: does this apply to all writing? Think on the compelling novels. Don’t they usually combine authenticity and domain expertise? Even if the domain expertise is gained by a passionate amateur, as in Tom Clancy.

Last terrific novel I read was Elif Batuman’s Either/Or: authenticity and domain (Harvard, literary studies, sexual trauma) expertise? Check and check on that one.

Or here’s John Grisham:

I read a lot of books written by other lawyers–legal thrillers, as they are called–I read them because I enjoy them, also I have to keep an eye on the competition. I can usually tell by page three if the author has actually been in a fight in a courtroom, or whether he’s simply watched too much television.

(Grisham in that speech itemizes three essential elements of voice: clarity, authenticity, and veracity).

Or how about Ellison on Hemingway‘s authenticity and domain expertise:

when he describes something in print, believe him

Somewhere Shelby Foote said that the reason his Ken Burns interviews were compelling was simply that he knew what he was talking about, he’d been thinking, reading, writing about the Civil War for twenty years. (He still got some stuff wrong).

Is it that simple? Is the key to writing just 1) being genuine and 2) knowing what you’re talking about?

Gotta work on this.